In a strong defense of digital age privacy, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled that police may not search the cellphones of people they arrest without first getting search warrants.

Chief Justice John Roberts said cellphones are powerful devices unlike anything else police may find on someone they arrest because the phones contain so much information, police must get a warrant before looking through them, Roberts said.

A unanimous Supreme Court says police may not generally search the cellphones of people they arrest without first getting search warrants

‘Modern cellphones are not just another technological convenience. With all they contain and all they may reveal, they hold for many Americans the privacy’s of life,’ Roberts said.

The message to police about what they should do before rummaging through a cellphone’s contents following an arrest is simple. ‘Get a warrant,’ Roberts said.

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